Belarus 20 roubles 2008, silver commemorative coin

Obverse: at the top – the relief of the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Belarus and inscription REPUBLIC OF BELARUS; in the center – on a background of a symbol of eternal movement – wheels of a distaff passing in structure of annual rings on cuts of a tree – the stylized image of silhouettes of cuckooes and elements of the Belarus national ornament; beneath: year of issue, fine silver alloy standard at the bottom – face value 20 ROUBLES – inscriptions along the rim at the top REPUBLIC OF BELARUS.
Reverse: in the center – the stylized image of a cuckoo, which wings remind a wave of long sleeves of lady's wear in dance; on a silhouette of a bird – elements of the Belarus national ornament; under the right wing – conditional images of statuettes of children and ovals in the form of eggs which serve as symbols of a legend; at the left on a circle an inscription: The Legend of the Cuckoo.
Design: O. Novoselova (Belarus).
Minted by: CJSC "Lithuanian Mint", Vilnius, Lithuania
Silver, Alloy standard of silver: 925
Denomination: 20 rubles
Weight of coin: 33.62 g
Fine silver content: 31.1 g
Quality: "proof"
Diameter: 38.61 mm
Mintage: 5000 pcs.

Source: National bank of the Belarus.

Aruba 10 Florin Carnival Gold Coin 2009

In the year 2009 Aruba will be celebrating it’s 55
years of carnival. In this context, the Central Bank
of Aruba, on behalf of the government has issued a
special coin in gold proof, commemorating this
cultural celebration.
Aruba will celebrate her 55th Carnival in 2009. On
Aruba Carnival is celebrated for more than 64
years. However the first official Carnival parades
and election of Carnival Queen were held in 1955
after ‘the Central Carnival Committee of Aruba’ was
installed. In the early years the many carnival
groups were inspired by Afro-Caribbean and
historic themes. The years thereafter showed that
themes like Aruban flora and fauna, tourism, culture
and folklore were appreciated more amongst the
participating groups. This made the Aruban
Carnival so unique, which attributed to the
popularity of the festival celebrations in the
Caribbean, South-America, the United States and
Northern Europe. The most important events during
the Carnival season are: the elections of Carnival
Queen, the Calypso and Roadmarch music festival,
the Lighting Parade, the Jouvert Morning (opening
morning) and the Grand Parades during the
weekend before Ash Wednesday.

Armenia, 10000 drams 2009, gold

This gold commemorative coin depicting Taurus has been issued by the Central Bank of Armenia under the International Program “The Signs of Zodiac”.
For over 5000 years this constellation between Aries and Orion has been associated with a bull. Bulls have been worshipped since ancient times as symbols of strength and fertility.
Greek mythology states that Europa, daughter of Agenor, King of Phoenicia, was playing at the waters edge when Zeus appeared before her in the form of a majestic white bull. Zeus raped and carried Europa to Crete and made her his mistress.
The astrological period called Taurus takes the period from April 21 to May 20.
The coin issued with colored inks.
Designed by U. Walerzak.
Minted in the Mint of Poland.


Nominal value: 10000 drams
Metal: gold 900 0
Weight (gr): 8,6
Diameter (mm): 22,0
Quality: uncirculated
Edge: milled
Number of issued: up to 10000 pcs

Source: Central Bank of Armenia

3 rubles, Russia, 2009

The obverse: in the centre - the emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it - the semicircular inscription "БАНК РОССИИ" (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim - on top: "ТРИ РУБЛЯ" (THREE RUBLES), below: to the left - indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre - the year of issue "2009 г." (2009), to the right - the fine metal content and the mint trade mark.

The reverse: in image of Saint George the Victorious sitting on horseback and spearing a dragon.

The edge: 300 corrugations.

Denomination: 3 rubles
The artist and sculptor: A.V. Baklanov, National Artist of Russia.Mint: Saint Petersburg Mint
Metal, fineness: Silver 999/1000
Total weight, G: 31,50

Source: The Central Bank of Russian Federation

Swiss 10 francs 2009

Since 1936, the Swiss Confederation has been issuing commemorative coins to mark significant historical and cultural events, or to honor outstanding personalities. Tribute is also paid to typical aspects of Swiss cultural life.True to tradition, commemorative coins are the work of Swiss artists. In collaboration with the Federal Office of Culture, Swiss mint commissions the design of new coins and also organizes design competitions.These special-issue coins bear a legal face value and are minted in limited editions. They are available in the qualities 'polished plate' (proof) and 'uncirculated'. The Swiss Confederation uses the net proceeds from the sale of commemorative coins to promote cultural projects throughout Switzerland.

Prior to the definitive striking of a coin, trial minting are frequently carried out with provisionally engraved mint dies. Among other things, the procedure of trial minting facilitates quality control of the dies, the minting process, the flow of metal, as well as verification of the suitability of the minting blanks. In earlier times, trial pieces struck before the actual minting process began were – with few exceptions – destroyed.In 1998, Swiss mint decided to sell limited quantities of trial coins at irregular intervals. These coins bear a special signet to unambiguously differentiate them from regularly minted coinage. This distinctive marking stamped on the relief is in the form of a ¾-circle open at the upper left, featuring a stylized Swiss cross in the middle. The letter E in italics to the upper left stands for essay, or trial. As trial coins are the result of test minting, the quality of these pieces is not in every case identical to that of the definitively struck coin.Annual circulation coin sets comprise all currently circulated denominations from the 1-centime piece to the 5-franc piece. These coin sets additionally include a bimetal commemorative coin bearing a legal face value of 10 Swiss francs. The annual circulation coin sets are available in polished plate (proof) and brilliant uncirculated minting qualities.





obverse

Swiss National Park – Red deer
Niklaus Heeb, Rodersdorf


reverse


10-franc piece, bimetal, with legal face value


Alloy: Aluminium Bronze (Cu 92/Al 6/Ni 2) + Cupronickel (Cu 75/Ni 25)
Diameter: 33 mm
Weight: 15 g
Uncirculated max 95.000
Proof max 12.000


Source http://www.swissmint.ch/

New 10 denara and 50 denara coins from Macedonia

50 denars:
Issue 2008
Diam. 26,5 mm; Weight 7,7 g
Metal: Cu62Ni18Zn20Period of circulation 15.11.2008

Ob. 50 ДЕНАРИ in the lower central field. Stylized horizon with a 16-ray sun.

Rev. РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА, circular; 2008 in the lower central field. Archangel Gabriel, fresco from the church of St. Ghiorghi in Kurbinovo - XII century, detail presented on the banknote of 50 Denars.

10 denars:
Issue 2008
Diam. 24,5 mm; Weight 6,6 g
Metal: Cu70Ni12Zn18Period of circulation: 15.11.2008

Ob. 10 ДЕНАРИ in the lower central field. Stylized horizon with a 16-ray sun.

Rev. РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА, circular; 2008 in the lower central field. Peacock, floor mosaic from Stobi from the VI century, detail presented on the banknote of 10 Denars.

Source: National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia

Finland, 2 commemorative EURO, 2009

All euro area countries are issuing a two-euro commemorative coin to celebrate the 10th anniversary of economic and monetary union in Europe. The obverse side of the coin shows a stick figure which merges into the euro symbol and ‘EMU 1999 – 2009’. The obverse side of the Finnish coin also has the text ‘SUOMI FINLAND 2009’ and the lettering ‘Talous- ja rahaliitto EMU’ written around the edge of the coin. The reverse of the coin is identical to that of existing two-euro coins in circulation. A total of 1,400,000 of the new commemorative coins will be struck in Finland. The Bank of Finland will issue around half of the total batch through normal currency supply channels and the other half through Finnish commercial banks as wholesale deliveries. Most of the new coins will enter circulation as change given in retail outlets, though they will also be available for purchase in coin shops. The coins will be put into circulation in early January. The commemorative coins will be legal tender in all euro area countries.

Source : Bank of Finland